A Game of Shadows
by Pikachulover25
Summary: Roxas thought he was fading into darkness, just as he was destined to. To his surprise he wakes up in an unfamiliar city. Little does he know he's the newest Player in a Game where he must fight for the life he never had. Now it's a race against time to survive the 7 days while the effects back with Sora are just beginning to surface.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NEITHER TWEWY OR KH...

* * *

><p>Noise. There was so much noise. Footsteps echoed in his ears, pounding as if an army of bass drums were behind him. His cheek burned and his body was stiff from behing in his current position for a while.<p>

Roxas slowly pushed himself up off the ground, opening his navy blue eyes. They widened in shock at the number of people around him. As he got to his feet, Roxas looked at his surroundings. Towering buildings circled him, although they weren't as dark and imposing as the skyscrapers in Dark City. _Wait, if this isn't Dark City, then where am I?_

Roxas looked around, up at the sky, across the sea of people. This place breathed _life_, something Dark City definitely didn't do.

"Where the hell am I?" he muttered, scratching his head. Absentmindedly, Roxas stuck his hands in his pockets. He was surprised to feel something cold and he pulled his hand out. In his palm was a strange looking pin with an even stranger looking decal on it. It was artistically made to look like a skull, making Roxas wonder.

He suddenly dropped the pin when he felt a searing pain stab across his right hand. Sucking in a breath, Roxas stared at his palm. There, almost like it was engraved in his skin, was a blood red timer, and it was counting down.

"What?" Roxas stared at it for a second, gathering his thoughts. Then he noticed the voices. The loud, inescapable voices were surrounding him, leaving him unable to think to himself. He looked around, but no one was looking at him. In fact, they were practically ignoring his entire existence. Roxas turned the pin over, looking for any kind of hint of what it was for. He flipped it from his hand and was surprised to hear the voices turn off as soon as they had come on. Roxas sighed and swiped a hand across his forehead, which was beaded with sweat.

Roxas looked down at his hand again. "Shit," He cursed as he saw that the timer was counting down from 3 hours. He only had two hours and fifty-three minutes left. "But for what?" J

ust then a short beep came from his pocket. Roxas pulled out a phone he knew wasn't his and checked the screen.

_Reach the 104 building. You have 3 hours. Fail, and face Erasure. – the Reapers_

Roxas was about to curse again, this time for multiple reasons, when a strange sound came from his left. He turned to almost be bombarded by freaky looking frogs. They seemed to be half composed of tattoo-like markings. The first thing that popped into Roxas's head was one simple word: _run_.

Roxas wasn't sure he knew where he was going; he just knew he had to get away from the frogs. As he ran, he was glad the Organization had trained him so hard, especially to expect the unexpected. Back then he had been thrown into a "sink or swim" environment. At least he had experience with it because his currently situation sure was just like it.

_Damnit, why am I running? Use the keyblade your fricking idiot!_ Roxas quickly summonded the keyblade and swung it at the pursuing frogs but they simply evaded the weapon.

"_What_?" Roxas gritted his teeth in frustration. _These aren't Heartless…then what are they?_

Roxas hardly noticed that he had entered a new part of the city. It wasn't until he heard an unfamiliar voice shout at him that he reacted.

"Kid, make a pact with me!" Roxas turned his head to see a spiky orange-haired kid dashing towards him, his hand outstretched. Roxas didn't know what else to do and grabbed it.

Roxas felt a weird tingling run through his body. He felt as if he had some kind of new power. He tried swinging his keyblade at the frogs and was shocked to see them squawk and disappear in a flash. Before Roxas could bring out Oathkeeper, the remaining frogs disappeared as the other boy swiped at them with a strange white energy-scythe.

Roxas dismissed the keyblade with a short flick of his wrist and noticed that the boy was approaching him.

"Thanks for helping me out there." Roxas said shortly, looking the boy up and down. The boy was slightly taller than him and slimmer. He wore "trendy clothes": baggy white shorts, a blue jacket with a deep cowl neck, and matching sneakers and headphones.

The boy stared at him for a second before he quietly nodded. "Neku." Roxas gathered that this was the boy's name.

"Roxas." He replied. Neku was watching him closely, not that it made him uncomfortable; he often got the same look from the other Organization members.

Roxas glanced down at himself and cursed under his breath. He was still wearing his Organization coat. He must have stuck out like a penguin among chickens.

Neku finally spoke again. "Now we just have to get you through the week." He said in a kind of mumble. Neku began to walk away, leaving Roxas puzzled. Roxas caught up with him and grabbed his shoulder.

"Wait! Where am I? Obviously you know a lot more about this than me. Fuck, I've been through a lot of strange things, but I need an explanation, and a god damn good one at that!" Roxas's eyes were hard as he looked into Neku's narrowed ones.

Neku shrugged his hand off of his shoulder roughly. Finally the orange-haired boy sighed. "Fine. I have to admit I was just as confused as you, maybe even more. OK, first thing's first, and you have to believe me, all right?" Neku took a deep breath. "You are currently in the city of Shibuya and the best way to explain this is….you are in a Game. And you can't get out unless you survive for seven days."


	2. Chapter 2

Roxas smirked and scoffed, "You expect me to believe that? I've had enough crap as it is." When Neku didn't respond he continued. "OK, fine. How did I happen to get into this game?"

Neku sighed. "I don't think it's a good idea for me to tell you. It's compli-"

Roxas glared at him. "Try me."

There was a long pause as both of them stared at each other. Their glares were equally matched. "You have to die to become a Player in the Game."

Roxas didn't even blink, but his thoughts were swirling in his head. "Wait...Wait a minute. I-"

Neku let out an irritated growl. "We don't have a minute. Come _on_, we have to reach the 104 Building." He grabbed Roxas and started to drag him towards the Scramble. Suddenly he heard the icy s slithering sound of metal against metal. Neku turned around to see the blonde lunging at him, his two strange key swords crossed in front of his neck.

"Listen. You tell me _now_ what's going on or I swear I will kill you. I've been manipulated and tossed around like a proxy way too much to just let you go on without telling me exactly what's happening."

Roxas's words struck a tense chord in Neku's memory. They sounded so much like the story of his life. Who _was_ this kid?

Neku took a step back. He held his hands up before him. "You listen to me. If we don't reach the 104 Building in two and a half hours, we _will_ be erased, just like the Reapers said in their message. You _will_ cease to exist at their hands. This is nothing to joke about and I swear I'll tell you everything I can once we get there. Then we'll have the rest of the day to answer your questions."

Roxas's eyes stayed narrowed for a long moment until he finally lowered Oblivion and Oathkeeper before dismissing them.

"Fine. But I want a damn good explanation after this." He glanced down at his hand. Neku was right-there was only two hours and thirty-two minutes left.

When he looked up Neku was already headed towards the 104 building. Roxas quickly caught up. He raised an eyebrow when they passed a creepy looking dude with a red hooded sweatshirt obscuring his face.

"Wall clear." The man said and Neku casually ran past him. Roxas mentally noted to ask Neku about that.

"There. We're at the 104 Building." said Neku, stopping in front of the huge building.

"Is that it?" asked Roxas skeptically.

"Look at your hand."

Roxas looked down at his palm. Just as Neku had implied, the red timer was gone. Roxas looked at the orange-haired boy.

"So what are these? Missions?"

Neku nodded. "That's right. The Reapers hand them out to all the Players every day with specific time limits. The catch is that even if just one pair of Players accomplishes the mission, the all the Players still in the Game live for another day."

Roxas crossed his arms. "Are they always this simple?" Neku shook his head, confirming his suspicions.

"No, the first day is always the easiest if you can figure it out." Neku smirked. "And the first day is always the same."

"Who are the Reapers?" Roxas had an inkling that they were similar to the Organization.

"The Reapers…" Neku thought for a second, carefully considering his words. "They're basically a group of people whose jobs are to eliminate Players during the week. There are rules that they have to abide by though, like they can't directly attack Players until the Seventh Day."

"What about the guy in red" asked Roxas.

"Those are barrier Reapers." said Neku. "Their job is to put wall up restricting where the Players can go. Though with a mission like today's you have to accomplish certain requirements to get through."

Roxas stuck his hands in his pockets. "So you have to die to enter this Game" From his tone, Neku knew the boy was distressed. Hell, he knew he certainly was when he found out he was dead.

"You probably noticed that people don't notice you. The UG makes it so Players can see other people, but they can't see you. That skull pin there-" Neku pointed to it in Roxas's hand as the blonde took it out to inspect it. "Allows you to hear their thoughts. It may sound a bit confusing, but you want to be able to hear their thoughts. If you can't then that's bad news."

"Why?" Roxas asked curiously.

Neku frowned at him. "It's a long story and trust me, you wouldn't want to know."

"But if I'm dead, then what happens if you don't get erased?" asked Roxas, furrowing his brow.

Neku pulled at his deep cowl. "Then if you did a good job during the week, the Conductor gives you a chance to return to the RG."

Roxas shook his head. "UG, RG, Conductor?"

Neku sighed. "This plane is the UG, short for Underground, where the Game takes place. The RG is the 'Real Ground', or where everyone else is."

Neku looked upward, trying to think of anything else. "Right, so no one in the RG can see you, but if you go into some restaurants or store with a Reaper decal on the front then the people inside will be able to see you. And always bewar because unless you're in a place with the decal, the only people you can talk to normally are other Players, Reapers, or those few others who dwell in the UG."

"Who would those be?"

Neku knew Roxas would ask that and mentally slapped himself. "Uh, people who run the Game, like the Conductor."

Neku saw Roxas's frustrated look and scowled. He was giving away way too much information. "The Game you're in is the Composer's Game. He's the one who calls the shots and runs Shibuya. He's like…the CEO or whatever. Basically he's god here." Neku knew it was a daunting statement, but Roxas did not have a great reaction.

"Now the Conductor is his right-hand man who may directly interact with the Players, while the Composer will not." Roxas didn't say anything for a while. Neku was beginning to get impatient when he remembered he had been the same-quiet and brooding.

"Hey kid, do you know what your entry was?"

Roxas was too confused with the question to retort at his use of 'kid'. "Entry fee?"

Neku scratched his head. "I forgot to mention that. It's the thing you have to pay to enter the Game. The Conducdtor takes one from every Player before they start Day 1. In order to redeem it, you have to survive the week." Neku was utterly embarrassed he had forgotten to mention the entry fee, the motivation of almost all the Players.

Roxas shook his head. "I don't think I'm missing anything."

Neku leaned forward. "Entry fees are whatever you value the most."

Roxas thought for a second. He shook his head a couple of times before he responded with a pale face. "I'm pretty sure I know what my entry fee is. Axel."

* * *

><p>Hey, I'm pretty sure they're called Barrier Reapers, right? Oh well...<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys, thanks for sticking with me and thank you sooooo much for the reviews! I love how intrigued you all are and it makes me happy that I'm tricking you all up heheh.

About these upcoming chapters...this is where I have to start making up my own characters and stuff so if they suck I'm really sorry. I completely forgot that I had to make all new Reapers and stuff...

Thanks for reading and please review!

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY SQUARE ENIX CHARACTERS OR ANY RELATED MATERIAL

* * *

><p><strong>PREVIOUSLY...<strong>

"Hey kid, do you know what your entry was?"

Roxas was too confused with the question to retort at his use of 'kid'. "Entry fee?"

Neku scratched his head. "I forgot to mention that. It's the thing you have to pay to enter the Game. The Conducdtor takes one from every Player before they start Day 1. In order to redeem it, you have to survive the week." Neku was utterly embarrassed he had forgotten to mention the entry fee, the motivation of almost all the Players.

Roxas shook his head. "I don't think I'm missing anything."

Neku leaned forward. "Entry fees are whatever you value the most."

Roxas thought for a second. He shook his head a couple of times before he responded with a pale face. "I'm pretty sure I know what my entry fee is. Axel."

* * *

><p>Neku gave Roxas a blank look. After a momentary pause he said carefully, "Is Axel your friend?"<p>

Roxas shuffled his weight on his feet and bowed his head so his golden spikes obscured his face. At first he didn't look like he was going to answer but then he lifted his head. Neku noticed the sword of negative emotions deep in his eyes.

"He…was my friend. Before I came here we had a fight. I don't know if he'd forgive me if I see him again."

Neku glanced at the sky. "If he was your friend, then he'll forgive you. And I'll help you see him again. A friendship can't die on a bad note."

Roxas looked at Neku, who was looking at the ground. He spoke as if from experience, but Roxas was cautious to ask why. So he didn't. There was something fishy about him, Roxas knew. He sighed inwardly. _I guess all that recon paid off, _he thought. How did Neku know so much inside stuff about the Game? And why would he choose him as a partner?

* * *

><p><strong>Day 2….<strong>

Roxas was surprised that Neku was awake before him the next day. At first he didn't spot him, but then he noticed the older boy was ten feet away from him. He was texting someone; either that or playing with his phone, but his fingers was moving pretty fast. Roxas scratched his head. Who could he be texting? Did he know other players?

Roxas didn't want to disturb him. He stuck his hands into his jacket pockets. His eyes widened when he felt something brush his fingers.

"I forgot I still had this," he murmured as he pulled his journal from the deep pocket. He glanced at Neku to make sure he was still busy before he pulled out a pen and began writing.

_Day-_

_I don't know how I got here, but I'm in this weird place called Shibuya, which I've never heard of. It's completely urban, and Dark City's the only play I've been that's even close to how this place is. I met this guy named Neku and he said I'm in some sort of game that you play after you've died. But I'm not dead, am I? The last thing I remember was my battle with Riku. He knocked me down and then I went unconscious, but I don't know for how long. The next thing I knew I felt like I had had an asphalt cocktail and I was in the middle of this place. Something weird is going on and it's more than it seems. I don't know why I'm here, but I'll just play along for now._

Roxas looked up and hastily shoved the journal away as Neku began approaching him. The boy seemed spaced out so Roxa shoped he hadn't seen the journal.

"Has the mission arrive?" he asked.

Roxas shook his head. "No. Where are we?"

Neku cocked his head and gazed around at their surroundings.

"We're at Molco," he said. "Interesting."

Just then Roxas's phone buzzed and he took it out and read the mission aloud.

"Relieve the Holy One of his burden. You have 300 minutes. Fail, and face Erasure.

-The Reapers,"

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "The 'holy one'? Serious?"

Neku shrugged. "Any guesses?" he asked in his monotone voice.

Roxas had to restrain himself from glaring at the orange-haired boy. He sounded just like the senior members of the Organization on recon missions.

Roxas narrowed his eyes. "I don't know as much about Shibuya as you do. Who would be considered holy?"

At perfect timing a bunch of giggling girls flew past them in a flurry of school uniforms. Roxas stepped back. "What the-?"

Neku pointed to where they had gone. In the middle of their group Roxas could see a flash of light blonde hair. "The Prince." was all Neku said.

"Who?" Roxas crossed his arms, frustrated at the lack of hintage in his answer.

Neku sighed. "He has an extremely popular blog and girls flock to him all the time. He's sort of an icon in Shibuya. Like celebrity I guess."

Roxas nodded. The two of them moved closer to the tight circle so they could hear what was going on.

"Will you sign my bag?"

"Wait, I don't have a pen on me!"

"I have lipstick!"

"Girl, please. I'm not in the mood right now." The Prince's voice seemed put out and lower than normal.

"Pleeeeeassse! Just hang on a-"

"We've been following you everywhere!"

Neku and Roxas watched as the tall blonde tried to escape from the dedicated girls but to no avail.

"That's strange." Commented Neku.

"Why?" asked Roxas.

Neku looked over at the Prince. "He normally loves the attention. It seems off of his typical behavior that he's pushing them away like that."

"So there's something wrong with him?" guessed Roxas.

"Seems like it," said Neku. "I bet he's got some Noise floating around him."

"What?" asked Roxas, confused.

Neku looked at Roxas. "If a Noise is attached to a person, they can affect them with negative feelings. Try scanning and see if there's a Noise hanging around him."

Roxas did as instructed. He saw just as Neku described. "It's a big one." he said somewhat hesitantly.

Neku shrugged. "I'm sure we can handle it. Let's go!"

The two charged into battle and felt the strange sensation of the Noise plane being set into place. Roxas soon found himself staring at a very large, very angry grizzly bear. Its claws were the same tattoo design as the frogs but yellow and gold.

"Be careful!" Roxas faintly heard Neku shout.

He quickly pulled out both his Keyblades and charged at the feral beast. He first had to cross them before him as the bear took a nasty swipe at him with its claws. Roxas had to dig into the ground with his feet so he wouldn't get pushed back. Roxas then leaped at it and took a swing with Oblivion. It hit the left side of the bear's head. The bear snarled at him and tried to attack again, but Roxas quickly rotated around the bear. He lunged at it and struck again, this time with Oathkeeper. The bear bent forward, giving him an opening to strike a third time. The bear suddenly turned and snarled at him loudly before it started lumbering towards him. Roxas was about to block with his Keyblades when he saw the bear raise its paw, but then all of a sudden it disappeared in a bright flash of light. Roxas then was tugged back to the UG and Neku gave him a small smirk.

"Thanks for finishing it off for me." said Roxas. Neku nodded and turned his gaze to the Prince. Roxas did the same.

The Prince now had a wide smile that was smeared across his face into almost a smirk. He now was now gladly accepting the girls' notebooks and signing them in a flurry.

"I'm so sorry! I was simply upset that my favorite Ramen Don was too busy so I couldn't get in! You should try it there sometime! F! F for Fabulous!"

"Omigosh, where do you go?"

"I wanna know!"

Neku turned back to Roxas. "Mission accomplished."

"Huh?" Roxas glanced at his hand and was surprised to see that the timer was gone.

"Hm. Now that we're in Molco for the rest of the day…" Neu looked Roxas up and down. "We'll have to get you some new threads."

"What?" Roxas tugged at the hem of his Organization coat. "Oh. I guess I must stick out huh? But wait! I like my coat and-"

But Neku cut him off. "I think Tigre Punks will fit you well."

"What is-" But Neku was already dragging him into the store.


	4. Chapter 4

So I'm sooo sorry that this took so long for me to update, but unfortunately I thought that I had already typed and put up this chapter, so it's just kinda been sitting here... wellll here it is, finally so enjoy! and please review! it makes me happy! :D

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: I do not own any square enix material, characters, etc. (kingdom hearts, wewy)<p>

* * *

><p>"Yup, I guess right." Commented Neku as he looked Roxas up and down. The blonde was now dressed in patchy black jeans, sneakers, a Go 2 Hell shirt, and a slick black leather jacket.<p>

Roxas ran a hand over the arm of his new jacket. "I feel like I'm wearing almost what I was before, but I'm not."

Neku crossed his arms. "Well at least you won't stick out like a nerd at a rock concert."

Roxas followed Neku out of the store after paying with the money they had earned earlier from the fight. Roxas looked over to his partner and suddenly realized he was on edge.

"What is it?" asked Roxas. Neku slowly turned his head to look at him.

"It's just that…usually by now the Reapers contact you. They like to threaten you, scare you. I'm surprised that-"

"Well, well, well, if it isn't a newbie set of Players," said a menacing voice. They turned to see a boy in his late teens leaning against the phone booth of love, watching them.

He had dark brown hair with red streaks through it. His hair was stringy and messily stuck out and jagged bangs obscured the set of gray-blue eyes beneath them. The boy's chin was sharp and defiant and on his lips a smirk played. Like almost all Reapers, he was tall. He wore black skinny jeans with black combat boots and a wrinkled khaki trench coat that had straps around his waist and arms clad his upper torso along with a black dog collar round his neck.

"Who are you?" asked Roxas coldly, his eyes darkened and narrow. The boy's gaze slightly wavered at the intensity of Roxas's glare. There was something deep within them he saw…as if he wasn't _human_.

"My name's Jun. I know who you are," Jun began walking towards them, his steps as confident as his tone was cocky. "You're the special one, aren't you? The one who came in last minute."

Roxas's eyes narrowed even more. "What are you talking about?"

Jun threw back his he

* * *

><p>ad and laughed. "The Game, of course. You were thrown in just like a wild card right before the week began. Oho, I don't know what they've got planned for you, but you've got it coming, blondie."<p>

Roxas's anger was close to boiling. He _hated_ being treated like he was special. He was always singled out. Then he noticed that Neku wasn't saying anything. He turned his head to look at his partner, who to his surprise was completely spaced out.

"Neku, Neku! This guy's a Reaper, isn't he?" Roxas's demanding tone quickly snapped Neku out of his reverie. "Do we have to fight him?" Roxas was close to pulling out his keyblade, but Neku stopped him.

"No. You can't fight them unless they send Noise at you. It's not worth it."

Jun raised an eyebrow at him. "Not worth it? Heh, you're wrong there, spiky. Though it is the end of the day and I guess there's no point in beating up you little punks if you've already finished the mission," Jun cracked his knuckles, sending Neku shivers down his back, reminding him of Minamimoto. Jun rolled his eyes at them. "I would say see you later, but I bet you won't even make it to the end of the week. Bad luck to you then!" he said with a haughty laugh before he took his leave.

Neku and Roxas didn't speak for a moment. Then Roxas turned to face Neku.

"What did he mean that they had something planned for me?" Roxas's tone was dark. He did _not_ want to be manipulated like he had been in the Organization.

Neku didn't look at him when he said, "In the Game, you never know."

* * *

><p>so sorry this is so short, but I'm putting the next chapter up now too, and it's much longer so I hope that makes up for it! review! :)<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

I've been having an inspiration buzz for this story, but I think it's because I didn't have any OCs in here haha. This is a much longer chapter with a lot more plot development so get ready to dive into this chapter! :D

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: I do not own any KH or WEWY characters, etc.<p>

* * *

><p>Roxas woke to his phone buzzing. It startled him and he briefly wondered if he had slept late.<p>

"What's it say?" Neku's voice asked and Roxas found him about six feet away from him casually, rearranging his pins.

Roxas looked down at his phone. "Defeat the Master at Dogenzaka. You have 200 minutes. Fail and Face Erasure. –The Reapers," Roxas looked up. "Well at least this one sounds at least normal."

Neku shrugged. "Yeah." Neku didn't say much and Roxas looked over to him. He looked like he had something deeply ingrained in his mind, but his face gave away little else.

"We're at the Scramble Crossing, right? What's the fastest way to get to Dogenzaka?" asked Roxas.

Neku stretched his shoulders before he pointed towards the 104 Building. "If we hit 104 then the quickest way is straight through to Dogenzaka."

"OK." Said Roxas before the two of them began moving that way. But just as they were about to turn down into Dogenzaka, Roxas hit a strange barrier.

"What the hell?" He growled as he tried to pass through it but to no avail. He turned to Neku, who was simply looking up at the sky.

"Oh, is that a barrier?" he asked in a slightly bored tone.

"What are they here for?" asked Roxas through gritted teeth.

"They keep Players from going where they're not supposed to sometimes during the day," At the unsatisfied and frustrated look upon his blonde counterpart's face, Neku continued. "They're also placed sometimes temporarily by the support Reapers,"

Neku glanced about and beckoned to a shady guy wearing a red hoodie.

"Hey, what do you want us to do to get through?" asked Neku. The Reaper was taken aback at Neku's abrupt demand.

"You mean we have to do something to get through?" hissed Roxas. Neku gave him a curt nod just as the Reaper began to speak.

"You seem awfully confident," said the Reaper. He pointed at Neku. "Say…let's see you dressed completely in Natural Puppy threads. Then we'll see how you feel." He said with a snicker.

Neku grumbled. "I've done worse. Take Mus Rattus for example." He said as he began unzipping his jacket.

Roxas's eyes widened. "What's Natural Puppy and Mus Rattus?" he saked.

Neku shrugged his shoulders as he pulled at the hem of his shirt. "They're brands, just like Tigre Punks."

Roxas saw what Neku was going to do and stepped back. "Woah, wait, you're going to strip?"

Neku glared at him. "Yes, I'm going to strip, and someone once reminded me that no one can see us here, so shut up."

Roxas's eyebrows lowered over his azure eyes. This sure was a strange place.

Naminé's lip trembled as she stared at the scattered papers before her. One page had a hasty crayon drawing of a red haired figure in a black coat with a blue object in his hand. In a second, that same red headed figure sat on a golden clock tower. But the most peculiar thing about the pictures and the rest was that there seemed to be an odd blank space in parts of them, as if something, or someone had been removed.

The sound of darkness swirling into a portal erupted from behind her. Naminé turned and grasped the pages in her trembling hands.

"Riku! There's something terribly wrong!"

The tall man in the hooded black coat before her remained in his stiff posture. "What is it, Naminé."

Naminé rose from her chair and stumbled towards him. "Riku, look! He's gone! He's disappeared completely!"

Riku grasped the girl by the shoulders tightly before she fell to the floor. "What?"

Naminé looked up into the fathomable darkness under his hood. "Riku, what exactly happened that night?"

Riku released her suddenly and stalked towards the wall where a few drawings still clung to the wall, mainly featuring a boy in red.

"I brought him back here while he was still unconscious, then we came back to him and it looked like he had just disappeared. Diz and I thought he had merged with Sora," Riku looked over his shoulder at Naminé. "If he merged with Sora, then his memories still live. But it he's disappeared in the pictures, then…"

Naminé seemed to have the smallest hint of tears in her eyes. "He's gone, in all of them. Is-is he then really dead?"

Riku didn't respond for a moment. "We'll let Diz be the judge of that." Then he quickly closed the distance between them and summoned a dark portal, dragging her into it.

The two of them found Diz standing before a large white capsule in a stark white room. The crimson-clad man did not turn around to face them.

"Diz, what's going on? Why are you in here?" asked Riku.

Diz finally turned around. For a brief second his eyes rested on Naminé before he returned his attention to Riku.

"Sora is waking up."

"T-that was the most ridiculous t-thing I've ever seen!" gasped Roxas, holding his sides while Neku straightened his cowl.

"It wasn't that funny," he muttered. "And next time it will probably be you," he threatened instantly sobering up Roxas. "Anyways, be thankful I'm your partner. I bet all the other teams are wasting their time running all the way across town to buy Natural Puppy."

Roxas ducked his head, acknowledging his luck of having such an experienced and prepared Player, or whatever Neku was, as a partner.

"So, just scan the area?" he guessed after gazing down the busy street. At Neku's nod, Roxas activated his Player pin.

"There it is," he mumbled when he saw the large ghostly fox floating around. "Let's go get it." He said with a more urgent tone before he and Neku launched themselves at it.

"Sora, wake up!"

"Wake up! Wake up, Sora!"

The keyblade wielder's sky blue eyes blearily slid open. "Kairi?" he mumbled. He glaned around to see that he was in a strange white room with large petal-like structures opened around him. But they weren't what caught his attention. A black hooded man stood in front of him. Then, a deep voice came to him.

"Do you feel Roxas?"

Sora blinked, confused and dazed. "Who's Roxas?" he answered cluelessly.

With that, the man summoned up a dark portal of inky darkness and left the room just as Sora cried out, "Wait!"

Riku heavily walked over to Naminé who sat at the table, sketchpad on her lap.

"Something's wrong. Definitely wrong."

Naminé looked up at him with wide eyes. "What do you mean?"

Riku grasped the edge of the table. "He doesn't know who Roxas is. Roxas was supposed to have merged with Sora, then-"

Naminé shook he head quickly. "I-I don't know. I'm just as confused as you are, Riku."

Riku let out a groan and a sigh. "Something's going on here. Just…what?" He walked over to the window and crossed his arms. "Where exactly did you go, Roxas?

* * *

><p>Review! I wanna hear what you think! :D<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

Ehh, sorry this is short, but it's important enough for it to be its own chapter. Sorry I didn't get this up this weekend, but review anyways! I always love to hear reviews and (kind) critiques :D

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: I do not own any Square Enix material including Kingdom Hearts and The World Ends with You<p>

* * *

><p>"Who's Roxas?"<p>

Diz's eyes widened. That was not what he expected Sora to first say. His eyes quickly narrowed.

"Where did you hear that name?"

Sora shrugged innocently. "I don't know, a guy I a black coat came in and said his name."

Diz sharply turned around to face the brunette. "And you don't know who Roxas is?"

Sora shook his head. "No. Why are you asking me if I know Roxas?"

Diz turned his head away "No reason. He is nobody."

Sora scratched his head as Diz walked out of the room. Sora stood there puzzled until a light voice came to him.

"You want to know who Roxas is?"

Sora spun around to see a girl about his age. She had soft blonde hair and she wore a thin white dress. Sora couldn't make out much of her features, as she was half hidden in the room's looming shadows.

"Who are you?" he asked curiously.

The girl turned partially away. Sora heard a strange whooshing sound from near her.

"If you want to find out who Roxas is, follow me." Then the girl stepped forward and disappeared.

"Wait!" Sora rushed forward and felt a cold, tingling feeling overcome him. The darkness tugged at him, whispering things to him. It frightened him, how it was so luring and captivating. Sora kept running though, searching for the mysterious girl in white.

Sora suddenly stumbled out of the dark corridor to find himself in a pure white room. There was a window across from him with delicate curtains that floated outward. He turned his eyes to his right to see the girl sitting expectantly at a white table, her blue eyes traced upon him.

"Who are you?" Sora asked her, stepping forward.

A strange mixture of emotions flooded through her eyes; hurt, happiness, an empty void.

"My name is Naminé." She said quietly.

Sora smiled, welcoming the familiar feeling back onto his face after so long. He put a hand over his heart as he said, "Nice to meet you! I'm Sora."

Naminé managed the tiniest smile. "I know."

Sora looked around the room, his eyes wide with wonder. Then he walked towards the table and sat down across from her.

"Who is Roxas? You said you could tell me who he was. Two people have already asked me if I knew him, but I don't. I haven't even ever heard of him before until now. Why were they asking me that? Am I supposed to know him?"

Naminé's face turned sober. "Yes Sora, you are supposed to know him. You've never met him but…" Naminé averted her gaze. She bit her lip as if she was worried about what she was going to say.

"Naminé, is Roxas someone important?" Sora asked, leaning forward.

Naminé slowly brought herself to meet the curious brunette's pondering gaze. "Sora, Roxas is your Nobody."

Sora's eyes reflected confusion right away. "What? I don't kn-"

"A Nobody is what is created when someone loses their heart to the darkness. People who possess strong hearts often have Nobodies that resemble human form."

"But I never…oh," Sora's face immediately changed from confusion to guilt and another emotion that Naminé could not describe. "But why should I…Someone asked me if I could feel Roxas. Why would I be able to feel him?"

Naminé's eyes turned downcast. "Sora, for nearly a year you've been asleep while I have been repairing your memories after your time in Castle Oblivion. You don't remember any of your time there, but you've been asleep for nearly a year. In order for you to wake up, Roxas had to return to you for you to regain all of your memories," Naminé glanced towards the window that served as her only glimpse to the outside world. "We thought that Roxas had merged back with you, enabling your memories to return to you…but if you can't feel Roxas…then he never merged back with you."

Sora bore a frown. "But if I'm awake, then why are you worried about Roxas?"

Naminé lowered her head slightly and pushed a few loose pages of paper over to him. "Look at these."

Sora's eyes scanned the crude drawings. "What are these?" he asked, looking up at the blonde.

Naminé looked over to the images of Sora pinned on the wall. "They were pictures of Roxas during the time you were asleep. But…he has disappeared from them, and that only happens when all who they were connected to completely forgets them or if they are…terminated,"

Sora looked at Naminé questioningly. "The problem is that we thought that Roxas merged with you, which would mean that his memories would still live within you. But this doesn't explain why he has completely disappeared from these pictures." She explained. Pain and worry laced her words, but Sora could not identify why.

"What was he l-" Sora was interrupted by the unfamiliar whooshing sound of a dark corridor opening. Naminé abruptly stood as Diz stepped out. On his face he wore an angry scowl and his eyes were narrowed dangerously as he barely managed to keep his anger contained.

"Naminé, you've gone too far," Diz crossed to the girl quickly and grabbed the girl by the forearm, making her cry out. Then he began dragging her towards the still swirling portal.

"It is good timing however, as we are no longer in need of your services." Diz pulled Naminé like a limp doll, trying to force her into the portal.

"Naminé!" cried Sora, immediately rising from his chair and dashing towards them.

Naminé turned to look back at Sora, her hair whipping in her face. "Sora, we'll meet again. I promise."

Diz laughed in a sinister way at Sora's effort to rescue Naminé before he shoved the girl through and followed her before the portal sealed shut, disappeared before Sora.


	7. Chapter 7

"Yo Jun, what is _up_ with the GM? All these missions are _way _too easy." Said a girl, scowling. She had her arms crossed over her chest just above her ripped cutoff shirt. She wore a plaid skirt with torn leggings and knee high combat boots. Her electric blue hair had a black stripe running through it and was gathered into a spiky ponytail.

"I hear they're not as bad as when Minamimoto was around. But honestly, I have no idea what he's up to. I bet he's gonna give 'em hell in the end though." Replied Jun who was standing beside her. The two of them stood atop a skyscraper watching the citizens of Shibuya rush through the Scramble Crossing.

"Six left," muttered the girl. "He's not trying hard enough!" she growled, her violet eyes flashing.

Jun rolled his eyes. "He's got it under control. Just you wait 'til we get to wipe all the remainders out, Yumi."

"Yeah, yeah," Yumi said dismissively. "Four more days though!"

"Patience, Yumi. Anyways, we've got orders to go throw some Players around." Jun flexed his arms, spreading his bat-like wings from his shoulder blades. Yumi spread her arms, bringing forth her skeletal wings.

"Finally, some action!" Yumi glanced down at the unknowing people down in the Scramble. "So where are we discharged?"

Jun grinned. "Shibuku."

Roxas checked his phone. "Another easy one. _Defeat the guardians of Shibuku. You have 300 minutes. _What is up with this GM? Some slacker." Muttered Roxas.

Neku shook his head slightly. "You're right about that. It's curious," he mumbled. His head jerked up suddenly and swiveled to the left.

"What are you-"

"Hey, you two!" called Neku. Confused, Roxas followed his partner's gaze until his eyes rested upon a pair who was running towards the 104 Building. They slowly walked towards Neku. They were a boy and a girl. The boy looked interested as he approached the two boys while the girl seemed wary.

The boy was much taller than the girl and was very thin. His hair was stretched upward into a spiky mohawk with neon green stripes while his eyes were almond-shaped and a bright green. He was casually punk while the girl was quite nearly the opposite. She had ash-blonde hair matched with hazel eyes. She wore a short flowing gray dress and modest white flats.

"Are you heading off for the mission?" Neku asked seriously.

The boy nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah dude, those guardians are going down! I'm Tatsuya and this is Mina. Hey, why'd you stop us? We already saw the other pair get a head start?"

Neku glanced upward, almost rolling his eyes. "I was just wondering if you had any ideas on what the guardians would be."

The boy shrugged. "Eh, we can handle it," He scratched his head. "Is that it?"

Neku nodded. "Yeah, see you there."

"Got it!" Yelled the boy as he ran off, dragging his reluctant partner behind him.

"Not," muttered Neku under his breath. "Let's go to A-East."

Roxas sharply jerked his head at Neku. "What? But the mission-"

Neku looked away. "The other two pairs are on it. We don't need to be there."

Roxas's face grew dark. "So you just want to make the others take care of it and ditch the mission?" The blonde's voice was simmering with anger and his words dripped with venom.

Neku gave him a hard look. "We've been doing all the work here. Don't you think it's time for the others to carry the weight for once? You don't want to be the only one everyone's relying on, do you?" Neku's words hit Roxas, almost intentionally, but how would he know just how to target him? Roxas's face went pale and his hands tightened into fists.

Roxas bowed his head and thought for a minute before replying to Neku's threatening statement. "What were you planning on doing?" The words that came from his lips were slow and reluctant like cement.

Neku cracked his neck casually to the side. "There's a concert over at A-East." He looked at Roxas sharply, his sky blue eyes flashing as if saying, "You'd better agree with me or I'll ditch you to the frogs."

Roxas considered Neku's unspoken message and his solid words about reliance before he answered. "All right, but just this once. I don't care if others are relying on me. I just want to ensure my own fate."

Neku bit his lip in consideration but nodded solemnly in understanding. "Shall we head off then?" Roxas reluctantly nodded before they both headed off towards the 104 Building.

"Sora…Sora!"

"W-what? Who are you?" Sora opened his eyes to be faced by a tall man in black with his face obscured by the shadows within his hood. He was answered by the man grabbing him and dragging him into a portal of darkness.

"Wait! Where are…who are-" Sora stopped when the darkness opened up into a dark landscape. The sound of calm waves lapping against the shore met his ears. He turned to see that the man who had brought him here was the same man that had asked him that peculiar question: "Do you feel Roxas?"

"Sora," The man turned to him. Sora felt unnerved at how he couldn't see the man's face. "What is the last thing you remember?"

Sora was about to protest at the man not answering his question but had second thoughts. "I…I was with Donald and Goofy at a crossroads and there was…a man who wore a coat like yours. But then it's all a blur." Sora squeezed his eyes shut, trying to recall his memories.

"Do you have any memories that are not yours?" The man's voice was soft yet stern and insistent, peaking Sora's curiosity.

"Is this about Roxas?" asked Sora. The man's head turned towards the waves at Sora's question. "What happened to Naminé? Is she OK?"

"Naminé should be safe. I know someone who will ensure her safety. But this is a serious matter, Sora. I'm not supposed to be in contact with you, let alone take you away, but we need to find Roxas and you might be the only one who will be able to find him."

Sora paused to absorb the man's words. "Why would I be the only one who could find him? Naminé told me he was my Nobody, but-"

"That's exactly the point. Nobodies often are drawn towards their Somebodies because of their lack of hearts. We think that if Roxas is off somewhere, he will be drawn to you and then maybe we'll have a slight chance of hope in finding him."

Sora scratched his head. "But do you have any ideas of where he could be?"

The man walked closer to the sandy surf. "I have been tracking for waves of darkness among the worlds since Roxas radiates a strong dark aura. I found a tiny world that changed its balance suspiciously around the time of Roxas's disappearance. The world is closer to the darkness than the light, but has a relatively stable balance. However, there was a spike in its darkness right about when Roxas disappeared. I expect that it is our best bet for finding him."

Sora turned and looked at the man who faced the inky horizon. "Why do you want to find Roxas? Naminé mentioned that you needed him for me to wake up. But why do you need him if I'm awake?"

The man turned around and looked at him. "Sora, are there any gaps in your memory? Do you remember everything before that crossroad?"

Sora thought for a second. "Yes, I'm pretty sure I remember everything."

The man stared at him for a moment. He looked down briefly. "Sora, Nobodies are beings who are never meant to exist. A Nobody's fate is always either to fade back into darkness or merge back with their Somebodies. I've already fought Roxas and he is very strong. He defeated me. It would be best for him to return to you."

Sora bowed his head. "Is that really his only choice? He can't exist alongside me?" His tone was sad and disappointed.

"I'm sorry, Sora but it's the way things are meant to be. Anyways, Roxas is not a good influence. He is hard to control and almost exactly the opposite of you."

Sora looked out over the dark ocean, collecting his thoughts. "I would like to meet him, even if he is different than me. I mean, how bad can he be?" Sora smiled at the man. The man turned away, shaking his head. _Oh Sora, if only you knew. _


	8. Chapter 8

So I thought that I owed you guys an explaination. I know that the last chapter had a long period before I updated, as a few of the other chapters, so I just want to say that I honestly forgot that I have this story. *hiding behind a rock* soooooorrrrrry. Ok so here's the good news to compensate: I FINALLY plotted out the ENTIRE story, so I now know what's going to happen. That means I know how it's going to end! buahahahaha :D

so enjoy this quickie update considering I have some work to do on my other stories so it may (probably) will be longer on the next update.

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: I don't own any square enix material etcetera etcetera<p>

* * *

><p>"So…what did you think? Good, aren't they?" asked Neku, shoving his hands into his baggy shorts' pockets.<p>

Roxas glanced down at the used ticket he held in his hand. "Yeah, I don't listen to music much, but these guys are cool."

Neku nodded approvingly. "D'espairsRay's good, but I also listen to pretty much everything," Neku gave Roxas a sideways glance. "Have you noticed how Shibuya has a unique…tone to it? Do you hear the music the city itself resonates?"

Roxas, as Neku expected, gave him a strange look in return. However, since he had heard more absurd things, Roxas considered the question. He tilted his head upwards, listening to the alien sounds of the populated and bustling city. "I guess, I mean there's some sort of beat to it. Sort of like…" Roxas moved his hands around as he thought for the right words. "Like an aura, but different."

Neku nodded thoughtfully. "Almost like a pulse, but something you can hear." As soon as the words left his lips the older boy suddenly was reminded of when the city was dead with no beat because of the rogue Red Skull pins' power.

"It sounds like you're implying that the city's a real living thi-ow!" Roxas abruptly stopped when he held his hand up.

Neku looked closer. "Timer's gone. That means those kids succeeded in completing the mission," He slung his thing but muscled arms behind his head. "See, playing hooky isn't that bad." His sharp blue eyes instantly went to Roxas, awaiting the blonde's reaction. In response, Roxas glared at him, making Neku drop his arms.

"No, this is when we have to begin taking the Game seriously." He looked at Roxas with stone cold eyes. "From the 5th day, the Reapers begin getting pumped for the 7th day, when they get no restrictions whatsoever on the Players." Roxas tried not to flinch, but he still felt a shiver run up his back like an icy finger. Roxas felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up when he heard an unfamiliar voice speak.

"Righto, Smarty Pants," Neku and Roxas spun around to see a young male around 20 years old looking smugly at them from atop a store rooftop. The boy jumped down and landed gracefully before walking towards them. He had raven hair that was tied into a ponytail against his neck. His jagged bangs with streaks of indigo slashed diagonally across his forehead and stuck out over the blue headband he wore. Both his ears had multiple piercings in them, making them so that there wasn't a centimeter-long piece of flesh that wasn't pierced. His eyebrows were arched in a challengingly way. The boy wore tight faded gray jeans and a high collared purple Jupiter of the Monkey jacket with matching high tops. A chain hung from his belt loop and many bracelets rung his rather slim arms.

The mysterious boy (both Neku and Roxas were well aware he was a Reaper of a sort) flamboyantly bowed before them. When he stood up he looked them in the eye with his dark brown eyes slyly.

"Congrats on making it to the end of the 4th day, kiddos. I am Yamato, your totally awesome, greatly stylish Game Master!" The boy declared, holding out his arms as if expecting praise and applause. Then, just as quickly as he had turned on the happy switch the boy crossed his arms and his dark eyebrows slanted down dangerously. "But I'm very disappointed in you two boys for not participating in today's mission." Roxas raised an eyebrow at the boy's slightly teasing tone. He noticed how Neku was giving the boy an exclusive "go to hell" and death glare combination.

Yamato's eyes ran over to them. Then they flickered to Neku. His brow creased. "What _are _you wearing? It looks like you grabbed your clothes right out of the dresser." He said, putting a thin finger to his cheek.

Neku let out a low growl. "I'm afraid I didn't get the memo that you _aren't_ supposed to do that." Something seemed to dawn on the orange-head for he quickly jabbed a finger at Yamato and retorted, "Hey, I'm wearing Jupiter of the Monkey too! What makes you think I'm out of style?" he said with an aggressive hint to his words.

Roxas narrowed his eyes. Neku was acting suspiciously out of character and his tone of voice suggested that this related to a well-past issue. "Neku-"

"I just follow the trends, kid. And J of the M was successfully brought into the fray of fashion not too long ago by a Player just like you. You must learn to worship your idols, kid otherwise all your dreams would be nonexistent. And dress coordinated," preached Yamato as he fiddled with one of his overhanging spikes. Roxas raised an eyebrow as the self-declared GM flipped out a compact to check his hair before he glanced over at Neku. The boy was positively pissed. If he had been a cartoon character, he would have had steam coming out of his ears with a rapidly throbbing temple at his pale forehead.

Yamato clicked his compact shut loudly, gaining Roxas's attention once more. "Since I'm GM, you must abide by my rules and I say that you must follow my example. _Obviously_ you attempted to copy _my_ J of the M style, albeit sadly. In other words, I say that you must put up a better impression if you are trying to follow _me_." Yamato's hand fluttered to his chest, gesturing to himself.

"You frickin' son-of-a-"

"Hm, I came here to do something other than introduce myself," Yamato cut Neku off, seemingly in his own world. "Oh yes! I came to challenge you to see if you're really worth your guts." He finished gleefully, pasting a bright menacing smile on her face.

"You can't do that!" cried Roxas who seemed to be the only one in their right mind at the moment.

Yamato flicked his hand dramatically. "Pssh, well you're right if you're going by technical terms," he said, rolling his eyes. "But there are loopholes in everything, kiddo," he sneered. "Fortunately, since I _am_ GM, I can command others to do whatever I want." Yamato snapped his fingers together casually when four powerful Noise materialized, their fur darker than their less powerful forms. With a final laugh, the GM disappeared, leaving Roxas and Neku faced off against two growling wolves, a snarling bear, and a haunting vulture.

The two back up in anticipation. Roxas summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion while Neku, his temple still (theoretically) throbbing flicked a pin in his thumb.

"These guys aren't that bad, but they're strong than their weaker forms," said Neku without looking at Roxas. Finally he met the blonde's focused eyes in a sidelong glance. "You ready?" He asked as the Noise inched closer.

Roxas calmly replied, "Yes." Suddenly he felt the swooshing feeling in his pit of his stomach as the Noise plane swept him up. Roxas charged immediately at the bloodthirsty Noise, priming his keyblades as he rotated his wrists, sending them spinning. Parallel to him, Neku dove into the fray, spraying bullets from his palms. Roxas weaved through the Noise, spinning around to face the next. Roxas felt so free and liquid as he moved. Him and Neku were surprisingly in sync, but when he heard Neku say something peculiar, he didn't know what to expect.

"You ready for this?" asked Neku slyly.

"Go for it," encouraged Roxas, knowing what his partner was about to do was probably good. Roxas lifted his keyblades to block a hit.

The next thing he knew a bright white light surround him, expanding outward, obscuring his vision. When the light cleared Roxas felt a sudden renewed vigor running through him, like a surge of adrenaline. It felt very similar to the limit break sensation he felt when he triggered it. Roxas slashed at the Noise with awesome precision and speed. On the other plane Neku was blasting away their enemies with white beams. When the energy surge ran out the bear and a wolf were left standing although they seemed a bit worse for wear. Both began attacking a single Noise, Neku taking the wolf and Roxas the bear. When the Noise finally faded out, Roxas dropped his keyblades, which clashed to the ground briefly before disappearing and rested his palms on his knees to take a breather. Neku on the other hand wiped the sweat from his forehead and put his hands on his hips while he caught his own breath.

"Well well, I'm impressed," said a voice. The two boys looked up to see Yamato looking down at them from atop a building across from them. "However if those four posed such a challenge for you, then you'll go straight to oblivion as fast from out battle as Mus Rattus left the 104 Building's TV screen." taunted Yamato. And with a final sickeningly sweet laugh, he disappeared.

Neku stood up first. He glanced over at Roxas. "First impressions of the GM?"

Roxas let out a mirthless laugh and he straightened himself up. "A little vain, isn't he?"

Neku answered him with a sarcastic sigh. "Kind of scary when you think about it, but all the GMs have some weird obsession. It's what drives them."

Neku was about to continue when an angry shriek rang out. "Argh! You two little brats!" Roxas and Neku's heads turned to see two very pissed Reapers. One of them was Jun who's brow was tightly knitted in frustration while the other was a girl they had never seen before.

The girl stomped up to them and jabbed her finger into Neku's chest. "How _dare_ you! You skipped the mission! There we were having eliminated what we thought were all the Players but two when you two twerps strut around _still completely alive_!" Yumi's eyes were flashing dangerously, lusting for carnage and destruction.

"Hold on, Yumi. The GM did send Noise at them himself, so they did get their turn being kicked around a bit," said Jun, cracking his knuckles, making Neku flinch. "All right, so you two must be strong to have survived the Noise Yamato sent at you. But I wasn't wrong. You still won't stand a chance against him." Jun glared at them and Yumi gave them a look that probably could've vaporized them on the spot if possible. Then with a wave of Jun's arm the two Reapers disappeared.

Roxas was about to ask Neku something when the orange-haired boy turned around.

"So there's only one pair left besides us," he muttered. After a few seconds of brooding, Neku turned to face Roxas. "I think tomorrow we'll take a visit to Cat Street."

"Why am I back here in this place!" screamed a blonde girl as a black cloaked person dragged her down an endlessly white hallway. The man beneath the hood grunted in frustration while the girl squirmed in his grasp, trying to break free. Finally he had enough and grabbed both of her forearms and shoved her against the wall, pinning her with his body so she couldn't move. In his action the man's hood fell down to rest upon his slim yet broad shoulders, revealing a mess of bright flaming spiky hair.

"Axel!" gasped Naminé, but before she could say more the man put a gloved fingertip against her pale lips.

"Your being here is highly secretive. Not even the other Organization members know you're here and it should remain that way. The last thing they know is that you were taken from here by Riku. Got it memorized?" he hissed. Naminé nodded with wide eyes. "Look, Riku knew I would keep you safe while he goes to find Roxas, so if you won't listen to me, at least try to abide by his wishes?" Naminé nodded once more. Her eyes grew pale as she listened to his words.

"He went to find Roxas?" she whispered.

Axel cocked an eyebrow at her tone but said nothing of it. "Once he finds Roxas he's going to make him return to Sora," Axel gave Naminé a sad look. "I know that's what neither of us wants, but Riku's pretty determined."

"You're not going to stop him? Even though Roxas ran away?" Naminé asked gently. Axel didn't respond. "It's for the best, Axel. Someday I too will return to my Somebody. Kairi…"

Axel clenched his fists against the wall. "It's what Roxas really wanted. I couldn't even stop him before he left so I doubt I'll be able to prevent him from going back to Sora once Riku finds him. He's so damn stubborn." Axel sighed.

Naminé looked into Axel's hard green eyes. "He got that from Sora. It's why he must return to him. It's unfair for us to exist anymore."

Axel abruptly dropped his arms but paralyzed Naminé with a piercing look. "But Naminé, if Sora is awake he doesn't really need Roxas, does he? He's got all his memories-" said Axel pleadingly.

Naminé looked down at her feet. "I…it is my greatest desire to be my own self, as is Roxas's, but there will always be people out there like Diz and Riku who will want to make us return." She said sadly.

Axel laughed fakely. "At least you get a second choice. I get to either die or die," he smirked. Then he suddenly grasped Naminé's wrist and began pulling her after him once more. "We have to get you to your room before they catch us. You never know who's lurking here."

This time Naminé smiled. "Thank you, Axel."

Axel gave her a fleeting smile. "No problem, got it memorized?"

* * *

><p>*Note: I keep changing how the Noise battles go and I apologize. So just ignore how a couple have Neku and Roxas fighting together while others are actually realistic with the 2 Noise planes. Just clarifying. :)<p>

Review! (it makes me happy :D)


	9. Chapter 9

Hey, I'm finally back. Sorry, I meant to put this up like 2 weeks ago, but I just got busy (OK, studying, but that's still busy, isn't it?) So here is the next chapter, and I hope to see the reviews flying in again. Ok? Please? :D

* * *

><p>"Nice to see you again, Phones." Called a charismatic voice as Neku led Roxas into a hipster café. The greeting had come from a black haired man sporting a goatee who winked at them over his trendy shades. Neku displayed a small smirk that vanished as quickly as it had appeared, making Roxas wonder.<p>

Neku casually took a seat at the end of the bar and Roxas did the same. The barista glanced between the two of them curiously. He peered over his tinted lenses at Neku.

"Is this what I think it is, Phones?"

Neku shrugged noncommittally. "Josh didn't tell you?"

The man gave a flashing grin. "He might've mentioned it, though I had a feeling you'd be dropping in to see me at some point."

Neku bowed his head slightly, covering his eyes with his hair. The barista turned seriously to Roxas. "You must be Phones's partner."

Roxas nodded solemnly. "Roxas."

The man chuckled. "I'm Hanekoma, but you can call me Mr. H. I've known Phones here for a while now and I'll tell you, you're lucky to have him as your partner." Roxas glanced at Neku, who was staring at the counter intensely.

Hanekoma leaned forward, pushing his elbows onto the counter. "So Phones, you must've come here for a reason."

Neku looked up. A strange light shone in his eyes, almost nostalgic yet worried. "The Reapers have eliminated all of the Players except us and another pair."

"You're not panicking, are you Phones?" teased Hanekoma, quirking an eyebrow. His face faded back into seriousness. "Yeah, I heard the Reapers are much more aggressive this time around," he said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "They may be strong in power Phones, but they lack in organization and infrastructure. The GM is the weakest link here and the Reapers are taking advantage of it by their attacks on the Players."

Neku's eyes flitted side to side nervously. "Something about this is…different. I don't know what, but it's as if there's something lurking behind the scenes," His blue eyes found Hanekoma's. "Has Josh-"

Hanekoma gave him an odd look. "Josh hasn't stopped by in awhile."

Roxas scrunched his eyebrows. "Who's this Josh?"

Hanekoma looked at him, but not as sternly as he did Neku. "Oh, a kid we know. He's one of those who always knows what's happening in Shibuya, if you know what I mean," he said casually. Roxas didn't let up his skeptical look. Hanekoma smiled. "So Roxas, if there's anything you want to know about the Game, ask away 'cus you're with a guy who has answers."

Roxas was taken aback at the man's boldness, but obliged immediately. "Are you a Reaper?" he asked coldly.

Hanekoma laughed, throwing his head back. "No, no, but I am someone who you can trust."

Roxas turned his wary gaze to Neku, who gave the slightest nod. Well, if Neku trusts him, then he's clean, reasoned Roxas.

"Why am I here? I mean, I know you have to die to be in the Game, but…that's impossible. And I hadn't even heard of Shibuya 'til I got here."

Hanekoma listened to the blonde patiently while he fixed a cup of coffee, nodding his head as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Your case is different, kid, but all I can say is that you're dead, and I don't mean that offensively. There's no way around it. It's the price you ultimately must pay along with your entry fee to get into the Game," Hanekoma's eyes suddenly narrowed and he scrutinized Roxas.

"You had an entry fee, right kid? You're not an illegal Player?"

Roxas's eyebrows lowered. "No-what? I'm sure I had an entry fee and what is an illegal Player?"

"Mr. H-" cut in Neku. "Roxas isn't an illegal Player. I would know." He said, looking at the barista seriously.

Hanekoma sighed as he ran a hand through his tousled black hair. "An illegal Player is someone who isn't dead, thus does not have an entry fee but participates in the Game anyway."

"How is that-"

"Possible?" Hanekoma raised his hands up as he cut the boy off. "Some people in the RG can actually see the UG. It's rare, but it's happened before. That means they can see it all; the Players, Noise, even the Reapers in their UG forms." He said, sipping his freshly brewed coffee.

"Has there actually been an illegal Player?" asked Roxas incredulously.

"Yup," replied Hanekoma, giving Neku the tiniest of glances. "Just once though, and boy did that Game get wild. Let's just say that we keep a closer eye on the Game and its Players now."

Roxas's mind picked out the "we" in his words, but didn't say a thing.

"So you're saying that even though I couldn't _die_ I'm dead and although I wasn't really alive in the first place, if I win I can get a second chance at life?"

Neku furrowed his brow at the odd question, but Hanekoma simply smirked and said, "Pretty much," He lost his charming tone however when he directed his observant gaze right at Roxas. "You keep saying how you're different, but you look and seem pretty darn human to me, kid."

Roxas scoffed. "Yeah, but Reapers and Players are human even though they're technically dead."

Hanekoma took another swig of his coffee, albeit slowly. "Reapers are another phenomena, but yeah, you're right. But what are you saying? You're not from here."

Roxas's eyes darkened. "It's a long story," he said.

Neku threw him a curious glance. "If you want answers, ya gotta put down some foundation," supplied Hanekoma as he caught Neku's look. "It's like the Game. If you want trust, ya gotta open up." He said, winking at Neku, who put on a sour yet reflective face.

Roxas sighed, frustrated. "You wouldn't even believe me."

Hanekoma shook his head. "Hey, this Game is pretty unbelievable, isn't it? And I swear I could tell you a million things that are true and you wouldn't believe me."

Roxas looked away, fighting a mental battle inside his head. "Look, I'm somebody…something that wasn't meant to exist. I lack something that someone, well alive, would have. So I guess you could say I'm not human."

Neku looked at him. "What exactly are you missing, Roxas?" His tone was dark and skeptical.

"A heart." Roxas said simply.

Hanekoma's eyes didn't really widen, but he intensely stared at the blonde for a sign that he was bluffing. There was absolutely none. It seemed as if the boy had gone through the same conversation several times before and it was one he did not particularly like to go through, based on his bitter monotone.

"That's not possible, is it?"

Roxas bowed his head, covering his dark eyes with his hair as he shrugged. "I'm not alive. I simply exist."

"But a heart-" Neku stopped, confused over how he should phrase his words.

Roxas knew what he was asking and answered in a monotone. "It's more in the spiritual term than physical. I mean, I don't have a heartbeat, but otherwise it mainly effects my emotions."

"How so?" asked Neku, glancing towards Mr. H to see if he was getting anything from the conversation. Surprisingly, the man was nodding in understanding.

"Emotions are linked to the heart." He said, rubbing his bearded chin.

Roxas slowly nodded. "I don't _feel_ emotions like other people do. The way people like me, other Nobodies, portray emotions is from their memories."

"Must be harsh being called a Nobody." Muttered Neku.

"What's this about memories, kid?" questioned Hanekoma.

"Nobodies are created when someone is overtaken by the darkness. You know, how everyone has darkness in their hearts. Some lose their hearts by succumbing to the darkness there. Well, people with strong hearts produce Nobodies that can maintain human-like forms. Otherwise Nobodies are Dusks, alien-like things," explained Roxas. "Nobodies usually retain their memories from their selves before they succumbed to the darkness, so they know how to act when they feel a particular emotion."

"Wait," said Hanekoma. "You said _some_ retain their memories," He looked closer at Roxas. "You're talking about yourself, aren't you?" he asked quietly.

Roxas averted his intense gaze. "I was…an exception. I didn't have any memories. But I made my own memories with my own life. I don't need his memories. They mean nothing to me," said Roxas in a threatening tone, his words gaining angry momentum. "Anyways, since I came here, I don't need them. To me, they don't exist anymore. They're gone. I've had to focus on the Game. I _have _to win this."

Neku nodded with Roxas and the two of them stood up. "It's getting late. We should get going, Mr. H. Thanks for your help."

Hanekoma shrugged. "I didn't do much."

Neku gave him a small thankful smile. "You've done a lot more than you think."

As the two boys left the café, Hanekoma slumped forward against the counter. He had a lot to think about. There was something that the blonde had said that had perked his curiosity. Even the boy hadn't realized it himself. He had to learn more about this kid's past.

Hanekoma slowly pulled out a small leather bound notebook that had a silver latch across it. Drawing a black pen, he began writing down all that the boy had told him and his private thoughts of the matter. Hanekoma's dark eyebrows lowered over his piercing eyes as he scrawled the words upon the vanilla paper.

Just then the door opened and a teenaged boy walked in. His violet eyes glinted as he caught sight of the barista.

"Hello, Mr. H. Was there something you wanted to talk with me about?" asked the boy with a curious grin.

Hanekoma's face grew into a friendly business expression.

"Hey there, Josh."

* * *

><p>Blue eyes. The most beautiful blue his eyes had ever laid upon, and yet they were so strikingly similar to his own. The eyes fell away as if retreating, allowing Roxas to see the whole face. He was shocked to see that it belonged to a girl. Milky skin met soft ash blonde hair. A smile as sweet as a cherry crossed her pale pink lips and a light rosy blush spread over her soft cheeks.<p>

Roxas was awe struck at the girl's beauty. She smiled at him, making him feel peculiar inside. The girl shone softly, as if she was the sun. He could nearly see the warming orange glow pulse from inside her. The girl grabbed his hand and held it to her heart. Roxas felt something inside of him melt from her delicate touch. He loved the feeling of her skin. She was warm whereas he was cool. Her lips pursed as if she wanted to tell him something.

Suddenly she moved her hand, still holding his and placed it on his chest. Then she let go of his hand but placed both her hands along side of his. Strangely Roxas didn't feel awkward at all at their position. Instinctively, Roxas put his hands atop her shoulders. At the contact, the light emanating from within her flickered for a moment before dimming almost immediately. All of a sudden the whiteness of the room darkened, like the lights had been brought down.

"Roxas," The girl's voice washed over Roxas and he looked into her gorgeous azure eyes. The girl's eyes flitted down to his chest and curious, his eyes followed.

From the center of his being pulsed an epicenter of darkness. Its center was a dark black but bleeding from the edges was a dark blue and a radiant purple. The colors spread across his torso, up his arms, down through his fingers. The girl then shut her eyes, displaying a tranquil expression upon her face. The light coming from her flashed brighter with a new burst of energy. Warm golds and stark white from the edge of her flesh, brightening the room.

Roxas watched as the light balanced between them. She was daylight, the sun, life itself. He was night, the darkness, sheer cold. The girl opened her eyes. Deep within them Roxas saw everything and nothing. He saw the star, the worlds, hopes and dreams, fears and pain.

He gently lifted his hand to stroke her cheek. There was a light spark at their touch. A slow tear streamed down from her cheek. The girl's skin grew pale and Roxas followed the tear's track down her face. The girl grasped his hand and cupped it with her own and caught the tear, which somehow grew so it was the size of a leaf.

"Roxas," She repeated his name again. "This is all that I am. I have nothing left to give and I give myself to you."

Roxas's eyes widened. "But…why? Why me?"

The girl smiled, making her glow brighter. "Because although you may not have a heart, you are a keeper of hearts. You are one of the only Nobodies that can truly display emotions like someone with a heart."

"Are you one too? You can cry." said Roxas, weighing the tear in his palm.

"We are different from other Nobodies, Roxas. We are connected. Our Somebodies are connected as well."

He cocked his head. "Who are you?"

The girl put a hand over her heart. "My name is Namine."

Roxas felt a warm smile spread over his lips. "Your name is beautiful. Why haven't I met you before?"

The blush that had grown deeper upon her cheeks quickly disappeared. "We were never meant to meet, Roxas."

"Why?" questioned Roxas. Why was he denied someone like her?

"Because of our connection, Roxas," said Namine as gently as she could.

Namine began retreating but Roxas tried to grab her hand. "No, Roxas. You have a duty you must fulfill. Hopefully we'll see each other again."

"Hopefully?" His voice was pained.

Namine looked back at him. "From now on, everything is up to you, Roxas. Choose carefully and wisely, Roxas. More than just your fate is hanging in the balance."

The last thing Roxas saw was Namine's fading face, as her words echoed around him while her light grew blindingly bright. The next thing he knew, he could feel the cold pavement beneath his body.

Roxas reluctantly rose and got to his feet, putting a hand to his head. 'I haven't had a dream since…I was in the Organization. I don't even remember what they were about. But why now?'

Namine…he savored her name. What kind of connection did they share? And why were they different from other Nobodies? What was it that made them different?

"Roxas, are you ready?" called Neku who approached him from a few feet away.

Roxas looked at the ground for a moment. "Hey Neku, why did you pick me as your partner? Am I different from other Players? Is that the reason?"

He held his Partner's gaze for a short while as Neku just stared at him for a couple prolonged seconds. Then Neku scoffed. "No Roxas, you're just like the others. Maybe you're more desperate to get out of this hell-hole than others, but you're just another Player," Neku looked away. "I picked you because you were in trouble and I knew you had potential. I knew you could win this."

"Uh, thanks," said Roxas awkwardly. The vibration of his phone distracted him in his pocket. Roxas held up the phone to Neku after reading it. "Got it."

"Let's do this." responded Neku.

* * *

><p>"That traitorous boy! How <em>dare<em> he meedle with _my_ plans!" Diz growled as he slammed his gloved fist against his desk. His body shook from the anger that overtook him. "Sora is gone…and he took Namine. Not that I care of her being, but he must be keeping her somewhere," Diz's eyes flashed and he began typing furiously at his computer. "I knew those two were dangerous together." He muttered under his breath.

A map of all the worlds popped on his main computer screen. Diz lifted his head to scan the different verses. His cloaked finger traced along the slowly revolving worlds. "Now where would he take that little witch?" The worlds spun away, moving towards the darker side of the universe at a swipe of Diz's hand. The man's piercing eyes quickly scanned the labels until they halted upon a world that stood out from the others. A malicious grin slowly carved its way across Diz's blanketed features, showing his gleaming teeth off to the lurking darkness of the room.

"Of course," Diz smirked. "The last place anyone would bother looking." Diz clapped his hands together happily. He then abruptly stood and abandoned his computer. As Diz walked further into the old mansion, several white Nobodies rose from the ground, grinning at him with their gaping zippered mouths.

Diz sighed. "So you're not willing to give up yet, are you?" He said to no one in particular. Only the alien hissing from the Dusks answered him. "Fine then." Diz opened his hand, forming a sword before lunging at the taunting white creatures.

* * *

><p>Namine's pale eyelashes fluttered as she ever so slightly stirred I her sleep. Beneath her closed lids, haunting visions filled her dreams. She was wandering the wet shore along the dark ocean, although she could not tell if she was in her own body or not, but she felt taller.<p>

She walked for what seemed for ages until she noticed a black-cloaked figure in her vision. They were calmly sitting on a rock. They had very broad shoulders and their face was completely hidden from view. Namine felt a strange aura coming from the figure as she approached his position.

"Who are you?"

Namine now was walking down a white corridor that stretched on for eternity, one that belonged to a place she knew all too well. Hundreds of doors lined the corridor on both sides of her as she walked. However, there was one in the distance tat a pure bright white light flowed from, through the gaps beneath the door and the doorframe.

Namine's hand shook hesitantly as she touched the cold knob but found the courage to open it despite the foreboding feeling lurking in the pit of her stomach. Slowly she turned the doorknob.

Just like all the other rooms in the castle, it was white, but strangely this one seemed…white than the others. Namine carefully stepped inside while her azure eyes swept across the room. A bed lay at the very end like her room. Namine sucked in a breath when she realized that it was occupied. Suddenly she stood over the bed and was forced to look down at the figure in the bed. Her eyes widened at the face: blonde spiky hair, the exact same features. But this boy wore armor and had a more mature look on his face even while sleeping. That was…if he was indeed sleeping.

Namine was falling. All she could see was the sleeping boy's face in her mind. It wasn't Roxas, something deep inside her told her. She knew his name, and yet she couldn't say it.

The atmosphere itself caught her, enveloping her and wrapping her body tightly in its embrace. Namine sighed, blinking slowly as she soaked in where she was. It was another white room with no walls. Namine had had enough of the remainders of the horrible castle-like prison and squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to wake up elsewhere.

When she opened her eyes, another pair met her to her surprise. She wasn't shocked though as she instantly recognized them. She grasped his hand, pressing it to her chest, wordlessly saying that their hearts connected them even though they had none. It was in significance to their bond.

"Roxas."


	10. Chapter 10

I am soooooo sorry for not updating until now. I don't even know how long it's been *hides behind rock* But I am back! That's the good news. The bad news is that almost the entire rest of the story was written a loooong time ago, but I just never typed it up. Soooo...sorry.

Disclaimer: I don't own KH, TWEWY...

* * *

><p>Noise. People. Towering skyscrapers that stared down the city made the entire populous seem miniscule.<p>

"Riku, what is this place?" gasped Sora as he gawked at their strange surroundings.

Riku's eyes traced the impossibly high skyline in awe before composing himself. "This world's called Shibuya," he said, his words caught amongst the distractions of the busy city. "It seems to be relatively normal. I just don't understand why Roxas would come here."

Sora scratched his head as he looked around. "But Riku, with all these people, how are we going to find Roxas?"

Riku's eyes widened at the realization and instantly wanted to face palm. "Argh, so even though you're here it may take longer than expected."

Sora glanced around before casually putting his arms back behind his head in his signature position. "I'm not going to argue. This city has a cool vibe to it," he said with his trademark grin. As much as Riku wanted to roll his eyes at his goofy friend, he couldn't exactly disagree.

Sora's grin faded as a thought came to him. "Uh Riku, where are we? I mean, if this is a city, then we could easily get lost."

Riku nodded to himself at the logical point. He leaned over to ask a passerby for directions, but was completely shaken off. He tried another but they just mumbled an excuse before running off.

Riku sighed. "Obviously all of these people have much better things to do than to simply tell someone where they are," he scoffed sarcastically.

"Ah, tourists, huh?" The two keyblade wielders spun around to see a smirking boy casually watching them.

The boy had wavy ash-blonde hair that nearly fell to his shoulders with gleaming violet eyes that seemed much older than his physical appearance. The boy's face seemed slightly feminine, but the cold steel hidden within his purple irises contradicted the fact. He was dressed business casual with a gray silk button-up shirt and black jeans and leather shoes. One of his hands was stuck in his pocket while the other played with a strand of hair.

"The two of you must have come from far away based on your appearance," the boy said, making Sora and Riku glance down at their clothes. He tapped a finger to his cheek. "Although a few days ago, I did see a kid wearing a coat like yours," he added, pointing at Riku.

Riku immediately perked up, his eyebrows lowering over his aqua eyes. "Wait, like mine? Would you happen to know where he went?"

The boy shrugged teasingly, raising his hands in an ambiguous gesture. "I can't properly answer that. You know, there are so many people to keep track of. I guess you could saw he just disappeared into the crowd."

Sora nodded, disappointed, but Riku raised one eyebrow. Something seemed off about the boy. "Who are you?"

The boy giggled, disturbingly high for a boy. "Oh, silly me. My name's Yoshiya Kiryu, but you can call me Joshua," he said with a smile.

Sora quickly jumped at his introduction. "Hi! Nice you meet you. My name's Sora and this is my friend, Riku!" he said cheerily.

Joshua's smile grew wider. "I never properly answered the question you wanted an answer to," he said out of the blue. "You're standing in the middle of Shibuya's Scramble Crossing."

Sora mouthed an 'Oh!' silently. Then he said, "Why is it called the Scramble Crossing?" Riku face palmed.

"Notice the behavior of all the pedestrians," said Joshua, resisting a snicker.

Sora blushed before rubbing his neck bashfully. Then Riku spoke up. "So what are you, a local?"

Joshua flicked his hair. "You could say that. Let's just go with I spend enough time here to be considered one."

Riku gave him a skeptical look. He did not like this guy one bit. Something about him was just…off, as if he was sending off the wrong vibe. It made him uncomfortable. "So…what would be the best way to find someone here?"

Joshua sighed. "It's hard to say. If the person you're looking for is a newbie to this city, then it will be hard to pin down their location. The best place, though, is here since this is really the center of Shibuya."

Sora smiled. "Thanks for the help!"

Joshua gave them a sly smile as he turned to walk away. "Good luck finding your friend," he chuckled to himself as he made his way to Cadoi City. _No if I have anything to do with it._

* * *

><p>"And we're done," said Neku as he caught his breath as Roxas and him phased out of the Noise plane. He gave Roxas a sober look. "Do you feel ready for the seventh day tomorrow?"<p>

Roxas thought for a second while he dismissed his keyblades. "I think so. I mean, Game Masters aren't that bad, are they?"

Neku shrugged. "You just gotta watch their strategy and keep and eye out for surprises."

Roxas cautiously raised an eyebrow. "You talk as if from experience." He noted the wary and slightly sick look expression on his partner's face. "You know an awful lot about this Game and you never told me why. Have you done this before?" Neku glared at him, nonresponsive, making Roxas cross his arms. "You're not a normal Player, are you?"

Neku turned and looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Look, I don't have to tell you anything. I can keep my own secrets in the dark if I like. I never questioned anything of your past, so you have no right to question mine!" Neku shouted, his face paler and the vein in his temple bulging. Neku had his fists lifted in a position as if ready to punch Roxas, who stood his ground.

Roxas leaned forward slightly, his fingers itching for his keyblades. "Partners are supposed to trust each other! I didn't ask for you as a partner! I thought you were helpful at first, but now I'm starting to think you had some kind of a false pretense. Well I'm not buying it!"

Roxas stormed away, leaving Neku with an urge to just leave him. Suddenly, Neku clutching his head, wincing a the strain put upon it.

_I trusted you, Neku with one simple task. If you don't uphold my will, you know the consequences._

"Argh, what the hell!" Neku screamed as the words repeatedly echoed in his mind, leaving them to absorb painfully. His eyes were nearly slits as they searched for Roxas's figure in the crowd. Seeing the retreating spiky blonde hair, Neku raced after him.

"Roxas! Roxas, come back!" he shouted as he sprinted after the boy. "Roxas, I didn't mean – " Neku abruptly stopped when he realized he had chased the blonde down. His eyes widened as he stared up at CAT's famous mural, the very same one where he had died just over a year ago.

Roxas was facing the mural, his hand tracing the thick mangled graffiti. Neku stepped forward, removing his headphones from his head. "I'm sorry I blew up at you. It's just…I'm not all that used to having a normal life. I know it sounds bizarre, but you're right – I have played the Game before. Three times actually. And I lied to you. You're not like all the other players. I saw something different in you. In fact, you reminded me of myself when I was first in the Game."

Roxas turned around and Neku noticed how his eyes were darkened in skepticism, yet were open enough to tell him he was listening. "Is there any other reason why you've been helping me win this Game?" he asked coldly.

Neku glanced at the ground nervously. "You want a second chance, right? Another chance at life?" he almost said too quickly.

Roxas stared at him for a moment. Finally he sighed and dropped the tenseness in his shoulders. "Look Neku, I can tell you're a nice guy. I should apologize for the way I acted. It's…I've been manipulated and pushed around too much in the past for me to just sit around like a pawn."

Surprisingly, Neku nodded, his head bowed. "You're not the only one," he mumbled. When he looked back up, he held out his hand. "So can we just continue on as partners? Just for one more day? Then you never have to see my face again."  
>Roxas slowly nodded and grasped the boy's hand in agreement. "All right."<p>

* * *

><p>Neku and Roxas were maintaining their agreement over bowls of ramen at the Ramen Don when he noticed something suspicious. Neku's eyes narrowed as he glanced sideways out the window so that Roxas wouldn't notice.<p>

Two strangely dressed boys were wandering down Dogenzaka. The more standout-ish one had brown spiky hair. He was dressed in baggy black shorts with belts criss-crossing his waist with a tight matching jacket and large yellow shoes. The other one, however, was the one who caught Neku's attention even more. He was taller than the brunette with long, silver hair that brushed over his broad shoulders. He wore the exact same coat that Roxas had been wearing when he first met him. The silver-haired boy set him on edge from his confident strut to the mysterious black coat he wore.

Neku shook his head as he returned to his ramen quietly. If two guys were here looking for Roxas, then things were about to get ugly.

* * *

><p>So if you noticed any breaks in explanation, well here's the explanation:<p>

1) I left out the part of Riku revealed to Sora that he's...welll Riku, cause I kinda forgot, but just imagine that before they dropped (hehe, get the pun?) in Shibuya, he told him that he's really Riku, blahblah.

2) Yes, Sora has his KHII clothes, but imagine that he got new clothes before they left the KH realm cause he looks really ridiculous in his old clothes after he gets taller.

Please, review!


End file.
